JERSEY CITY --Jersey City Mayor-elect Steven Fulop today announced that he has named state Sen. Sandra Cunningham and Hudson County Freeholder William O’Dea as the co-chairs of his transition team.

“I am proud to have two esteemed community leaders heading my transition team,” Fulop said in a press release. “My goal is to make Jersey City one of the best mid-sized cities in America and Bill and Sandra have the experience and leadership to help me achieve that goal.”

The widow of late Jersey City Mayor Glenn D. Cunningham, Sen. Cunningham was noticeably silent and absent from the recent mayoral race between Fulop and outgoing Mayor Jerramiah Healy. The only endorsement Cunningham made during the recent city election was for Viola Richardson, an at-large City Councilwoman who ran for reelection on Healy’s slate.

Cunningham never made an endorsement for mayor, despite her past ties to Healy and his allies.

“I gladly accepted Steven’s invitation to join as co-chair of his transition team,” Cunningham said in a release. “Bill and I will work together to ensure the Fulop administration reflects the great diversity of Jersey City and has the experience and energy necessary to help the mayor accomplish his goals.”

A Hudson County Freeholder since 1997, O’Dea helped shape Fulop’s political slate, tapping Khemraj “Chico” Ramchal as Fulop’s Ward B City Council candidate.

O’Dea endorsed Fulop early in the campaign, breaking away from most other Hudson County Democrats who instead backed Healy.

“I’m proud to serve as co-chair of the transition team and look forward to helping the mayor-elect assemble a team that will move Jersey City forward,” O’Dea said in a press release. “I’m excited to be part of this team that will bring about positive change in every ward of this city.”

Fulop has said that a consolidation of the Jersey City Incinerator Authority and Department of Public Works, a reorganization of the Jersey City Police Department, and “professionalizing” the delivery of city services will be among the top priorities of his new administration. – E. Assata Wright